Xbox plugs the generation gap

The experiments document how going on virtual road trips together in Forza or sailing on virtual ships together in Sea of Thieves, things that are no longer possible for them to do in real life, become an ice-breaker for opening up to each other about their lives and forming a deeper relationship, something sorely missing from ordinary video calls.

Recognising that most elderly people don’t have a console, while younger people often have an old console gathering dust, Xbox has introduced a ReBoxing initiative – a reverse approach to the trend of unboxing videos. The ReBoxing initiative is a project to empower gamers who might have recently upgraded to a new console to gift their old console to an elderly person in their life. 

“This initiative is close to our hearts because it shows the power gaming has to make a genuine difference in people’s lives," said Sanjiv Mistry, ECD at McCann London. "And the more people who take up the call and start ReBoxing their old consoles and giving them to their grandparents, the more those siloes of loneliness start to break down. We’re honoured to partner with Xbox to help nudge families a little bit closer together.”